Each bill that becomes law is given a chapter number based on the chronological order in which it was adopted. These chapters are called Session Laws and are compiled on an annual basis. The majority of Session Laws are Acts. Acts include everything from annual state budget and major legislative initiatives to reorganization of government agencies. Special Acts and include matters affecting an individual or a particular city or town. A Resolve is most often used when the legislation's only purpose is to establish a special commission to investigate a certain issue.

Search Results

Click on a result to view its details (whole result highlights in blue when you hover), or you may browse to one of the Chapters or Acts on the left side of the results table (in the "Found In" column).

Refining and Filtering: Pare the results down using the refiners on the left panel of the Search Results page. The results present all results by default. Narrow down results by checking the checkboxes (the number of results for each type are shown at right of the checkbox and label). If a refiner set has more than 5 refiners available, you can choose more refiners by clicking the "Show More Refinements" link, and a dialogue box will pop over the results page. Clicking a refiner replaces the original results with only the results from the checked refiners (note: checking all refiners is the same as getting the whole original result set). Get back to the original set of results by clicking the Reset "X" icon.

Keyword Search Tips

To find either horseORbicycle (or both, not necessarily together as a phrase) simply separate words by spaces, or type this: horse OR bicycle )

To find both elementaryANDeducation in the same result, type: elementary AND education

To get results with the exact phrase higher education use quotes to surround the phrase, as in: "higher education"

To search for taxi but not return results that also have taxicabs or licenses, use: taxi NOT taxicabs NOT license (or simplify as: taxi -taxicabs -licenses)

Session Laws Index

You may also browse the Sesison Laws by clicking on one of the Acts or Resolves links.

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Session Laws Index

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Each bill that becomes law is given a chapter number based on the chronological order in which it was adopted. These chapters are called Session Laws and are compiled on an annual basis. This site provides an unofficial version of the Session Laws from 1997 to the present through the index below or search feature and is updated regularly. Earlier Session Laws--from 1692 to 1959 and from 1960 to 1996--are available on the State Library's website. The official publication of the Session Laws for a given year is entitled the Acts and Resolves of Massachusetts, and is published annually by the Secretary of the Commonwealth.

The vast majority of Session Laws are Acts. Acts include everything from our annual state budget (the General Appropriation Act) and major legislative initiatives to reorganization of government agencies. Session Laws that are not codified into the General Laws are called Special Acts and include matters affecting an individual or a particular city or town. A Resolve is most often used when the legislation's only purpose is to establish a special commission to investigate a certain issue.

NOTICE: This is NOT the official version of the Acts and Resolves of Massachusetts. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the data provided, do not rely on this information without first checking the official version. If you are in need of legal advice or counsel, please consult a lawyer.

Acts and Resolves, also known as Session Laws, are periodically posted. This site includes all Session Laws adopted as of November 14, 2014.